Ryan Lochte beats Michael Phelps in 200-meter freestyle
Ryan Lochte was faster than Michael Phelps in Tuesday's semifinals. Lochte and Phelps meet again Wednesday night in the finals of the 200-meter freestyle.
Ryan Lochte gives a thumbs up after swimming in the men's 200-meter freestyle preliminaries at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. Lochte beat Michael Phelps in the semifinals. The two race again Wednesday.
AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
Omaha, Neb.
Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps went stroke for stroke into the wall in the 200-meter freestyle. Lochte's hand got there first, with Phelps touching second on Tuesday.
Imagine what Wednesday night's final will be like.
The world's top two swimmers met up in the same semifinal Tuesday night, with Lochte winning in 1 minute, 46.25 seconds. Phelps was just behind at 1:47.27, setting up another memorable confrontation in the final.
"It's going to be a tough race tomorrow," Phelps said. "It's probably going to be another close one like that."
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Phelps will be looking to win for the first time at the U.S. Olympic trials. He got beat by Lochte in the 400 individual medley on Monday, then got edged out again in the semis.
Phelps is the ultimate competitor, hating to lose even the smallest contest. But he knows what's really at stake in Omaha.
"It's about getting spots on the team, that's the only thing," he said. "The most important thing for me is to try and secure a spot, and from here I have 3 to 4 weeks to prepare myself and get some extra training in there. I think it's going to be a lot better than what it is here."
Lochte agreed nothing truly matters until the final.
"We're great racers, we just want to win," he said. "We definitely kicked it in gear the last 50, me and him. We know tomorrow night is going to be a lot faster."
There promises to be plenty of speed in the women's 100 backstroke final.
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